Development will finally begin at 99 Hudson Street in Jersey City, N.J. China Overseas America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese construction giant China State Construction Engineering Corp., has broke ground there on a planned 95-story, mixed-use tower, which will be the tallest building in New Jersey at nearly 1,000 feet.

The Jersey City Planning Board amended the Colgate Redevelopment Plan on Jan. 20, 2015, to modify the previous plans, including amending the maximum tower height to 990 feet instead of 675 feet. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2016.

The new tower, designed by Perkins Eastman, will comprise approximately 800 condominiums and include 7,500 square feet of public plazas and open green space. The tower will replace a previous two-tower plan from developer Hartz Mountain Industries, which sold the site to China Overseas America for $68 million in November 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal. As CPE previously reported, Hartz Mountain originally purchased the parking lot property in November 2011 for $35 million from Bank of America Corp.

“99 Hudson will mark a new milestone for Jersey City’s resurgence as a truly great city in which to live and work,” said Ming Wu, Perkins Eastman’ principal. “For decades now, people on the west side of the Hudson have marveled at Manhattan’s skyline, but today Jersey City is developing its own dynamic city, along with a world-class skyline. To play a part in this transformation is quite an honor.”

The development is part of a broader effort by Mayor Steven M. Fulop’s administration to transform Jersey City into the state’s leading job creator, attract hundreds of millions of dollars in investment to the region, and ultimately make it New Jersey’s largest city in 2016. As a result, the city is facing “the greatest construction boom in the city’s history,” according to the City of Jersey City’s press release.

The development marks Jersey City’s first large-scale condominium project in more than five years and will create an iconic new skyscraper along the Hudson riverfront. Once built, 99 Hudson will surpass the 781-foot Goldman Sachs building at 30 Hudson.